Speech to the New Zealand-United States Business Council
Top of the Tower, Hyatt Hotel

 

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

It's a pleasure to be here in Auckland today to speak to members of the New Zealand-United States Business Council.

It's good to see members of the Fulbright Board and other friends here as well.

I'm particularly pleased to have this early opportunity to share the government's thinking about the New Zealand-US relationship.

It's now almost four months since the New Zealand public elected a new government, and about the same time since the United States elected a new President. 

Of course, the immediate focus of both administrations has been the major challenges we face in weathering the international economic crisis.

The global economy is under real pressure. 

Like New Zealand, the US is moving to ensure its domestic economy recovers quickly, and its people get the assistance they need during the hard times.

I'll speak more about this shortly.

But first I want to talk about the New Zealand-US bilateral relationship.

Relations are, in my judgment, in better shape than we have seen in 25 years.

That has been the result of careful and constructive effort on both sides over recent years.

From the New Zealand side, my colleagues and I actively worked in a bipartisan fashion to promote the relationship while in opposition.

It is our view that enduring improvements to the relationship must be based on a rock-solid foundation of domestic political consensus.

That is what we worked to achieve in opposition, and that is what we will attempt to build upon now that we are in office.

We do not, however, see the significant improvements in the relationship over recent years as a cause for complacency.

Far from it.

For too long a period in our recent history both countries dwelt upon matters over which we differ, and blurred our focus on  the strong ties that have underpinned the relationship in the past: our shared interests, our shared history, and our shared values.

The events of 9-11 served to remind us of the importance of those ties, and served to remind us who our friends are.

It is against the background of several years of steady progress in the relationship that new administrations in both countries pick up their responsibilities.

My initial phone conversation with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear that there is a strong desire on both sides to build on the progress that has been made.

That conversation will continue when we meet in Washington in a fortnight's time.

I will be attending a Ministerial meeting hosted by Secretary Clinton to mark 50 years of the Antarctic Treaty, and have accepted an invitation to chair a session at that meeting.

New Zealand was one of the original signatories to the Treaty, and Antarctica has remained one of our tightest spheres of co-operation.

It is a crucial area for climate research, and an outstanding example of co-operation between our scientists.

Secretary Clinton and I will have the first substantive engagement between our new administrations.

In my view, the fact that we have new administrations on both sides provides an opportunity to bring fresh eyes and fresh energy to the relationship.

We need to learn what we can from each other as we confront the international financial crisis and work to trade our way out of it.

Our meeting will also serve as an opportunity to take stock of our co-operation in the area of security.

We have the opportunity to review progress with the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and discuss our respective efforts to stop protectionist forces taking hold in the current challenging economic environment.

And we will discuss our co-operation in the Pacific, where we share such an important strategic interest.

Today I do not wish to step through all of the items on the agenda for NZ-US discussions.

However I do wish to make a few comments about three aspects of the relationship.

International financial crisis and free trade  

Let me get back to the first major challenge we face in the world today - the international financial crisis - and how I see our region working together to see us through this turbulent time.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the global economy is in its worst shape since the Second World War.

New Zealand has implemented a three-year economic plan, and we have already moved to help businesses with a small business relief package. 

As a responsible and outward-looking trading nation, New Zealand is committed to a coordinated global response to the economic crisis; particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.

We want to work with the United States wherever possible to ensure our voice is heard in wider councils.

Governments are understandably anxious, and the instinct is to batten down the hatches and turn inwards. 

President Obama has made it clear that his administration will remain outward-looking. That's good news for the world.

Even better is hearing United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk's recent acknowledgement that protectionism advances no-one's interests.

Trade must be part of the solution to global economic recovery.

There's no need for me to convince this audience of the importance of doing more business with the United States.

This Council has lobbied hard and effectively on that score.

I was very pleased by the announcement last September that the US would join the TransPacific Partnership as it embarks on the first phase of its expansion. 

A Free Trade Agreement with the United States has long been a priority for New Zealand. 

The TransPacific Partnership is important - commercially and strategically.

In the current economic climate, liberalising the trade and economic environment we share with our major trading partners and neighbours takes on a new significance. 

The web of trade arrangements in the Asia-Pacific region presents both risks and opportunities for us all. 

The vision of the original P4 agreement - which is what the Trans-Pacific Partnership will be built on - was to establish the foundations for an agreement that would reach out across the region, and establish a clear and ambitious structure for the regional trade and economic integration effort. 

US participation and leadership in this process is critical to its success. 

The United States has asked for a delay in the first round of negotiations on the TransPacific Partnership, to allow time for the appointment of officials in the new administration.

We understand that. 

In time, it is my hope that the new administration will reaffirm the US commitment to the agreement.

Let me go a step further and outline why it is that we regard a free trade agreement - through Trans-Pac or any other vehicle - as so important to this country and to the US-New Zealand relationship.

We regard New Zealand's geographical location on the rim of the Asia-Pacific region - the region likely to provide the engine room for world economic growth for some time ahead - as our greatest strategic asset.

We have given priority to the establishment of a network of trading relationships across the region as the key both to emerging strongly from the recession, and to our longer-term economic growth.

We have now had in place for 26 years the world's most complete free trade agreement - CER with Australia!

Last year we became the first developed nation to sign a Free Trade Agreement with China.

This year we have signed a Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and Australia, and the ASEAN group of nations.

We have now launched free trade negotiations with India and with Korea.

The simple point I am trying to make is this: In an environment in which New Zealand has a comprehensive network of free trade agreements across the region, and the United States has an FTA with Australia but not with us, the absence of such an agreement between New Zealand and the US will become increasingly noticeable.

So, as the new administrations in both countries get their feet under their desks, and despite the economic challenges we currently confront, I am hoping we will be able to make progress in this area.

Security cooperation 

So that's the trade side of the shop.

But while we know trade does a lot to facilitate peaceful international relations, we also face international security challenges that, as a responsible global citizen, we can't ignore. 

We've seen a fundamental re-definition of security, following the tragic events of 9/11.  

The US has played a lead role in addressing new challenges, as well as conventional ones. 

Security cooperation with the United States is clearly in New Zealand's national interest.

We stepped up to the plate in contributing troops to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan - a contribution we've just renewed for another year.

Afghanistan has been one area where the US and New Zealand have cooperated closely. 

It was a US Provincial reconstruction team in Bamyan Province that New Zealand took over from back in 2003 as we became the first country after the US and Britain to contribute in this way. 

We got involved because we believed that action had to be taken to prevent Afghanistan continuing to be a safe haven for terrorists.

This was in New Zealand's interests as an open democracy, just as much as it was in the interests of the United States or other NATO countries. 

We believe it continues to be in our interest to see a stable Afghanistan, free from Taliban control.

That is why we have agreed to extend our contribution for another year to September 2010. 

We are aware of the ongoing challenges facing Afghanistan and those who seek to help there.

We have noted President Obama's recent comments signalling a greater emphasis on economic development and stepped up diplomacy.

We are also aware of the challenges we face closer to home, and very much aware of the finite resources we have at our disposal.

That is why we will keep New Zealand's assistance to Afghanistan under review.

We know of course that the US Administration is reviewing its policy towards Afghanistan, and I will no doubt learn more of the results of that review during my forthcoming visit to Washington. 

The new Administration has made no secret of the fact that they would like others to do more.

And I expect other contributors to the International Security Assistance Force will also want to discuss the way ahead with us.

While, of course, we will give careful consideration to the views expressed by our friends, it is important to note that New Zealand has already made, continues to make, and has just extended, what in our terms is a very significant commitment to the Afghanistan effort.

We have significant deployments in both Timor Leste and the Solomon Islands, as well as a residual responsibility to respond to short-notice crises in our region.

So we will keep the situation under review and monitor developments carefully as we move forward.

Beneath headline engagements like our commitment in Afghanistan, there has been steady, mutually beneficial and productive engagement between US and New Zealand defence forces.

We have both acknowledged that we still have differences around nuclear matters.

The United States still has restrictions on the military relationship that were put in place in the 1980s. 

While we have managed these differences increasingly successfully, and with good will on both sides, we would like to make further progress.

I hope that together we can continue to widen cooperation in practical and mutually beneficial ways.

The US and New Zealand have extensive shared interests.  We have worked shoulder to shoulder for decades.  We must keep doing so.

Pacific cooperation

When we talk about shoulder to shoulder cooperation, it's in the Pacific that I see our shared values and interests intersecting most closely.

Our cooperation goes back to the World War Two, when so many young American servicemen had New Zealand as their base while serving in the Pacific campaign.

These are considerably less turbulent times in the Pacific, but it's still a region with a lot of problems to tackle.

It's also a region where both New Zealand and the US have longstanding responsibilities and interests. 

The Key Government in this country and the Rudd Government in Australia have signalled intentions to lift the intensity of their efforts in the Pacific, and to do so co-operatively.

This has already been a major item on my agenda as a new Minister, having visited Niue, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, The Solomons, and Fiji in my brief time in office.

New Zealand takes seriously its responsibilities to our immediate Pacific neighbours, and we look forward to building on our collaborative efforts with the United States in areas such as environmental issues, development, governance and fisheries management.

President Obama has already made a very strong commitment to the development of renewable energy sources in the US, and that is an area with a lot of scope for development in the South Pacific as well. 

New Zealand stands ready to work with the US and the international community to address this challenge, and to share our own expertise in the field of renewable energy.

Asia Pacific

Looking at the broader regional context, our two nations work closely together in the Asia-Pacific on issues of stability, security and governance. We intend to build on this. 

We were pleased to see that Secretary of State Clinton made Asia her first overseas destination.

We strongly endorse the signal she sent, and the priority the new United States administration has placed on Asia and its strategic weight amid the immediate pressure of crisis in more volatile parts of the globe. 

International institutions and the rule of law

Sharing experiences and comparing notes is all a part of contributing to our shared backyard.

But the story doesn't stop there. Even though it goes without saying that New Zealand and the United States are vastly disparate in size and relative power, we share common interests in a number of multilateral fora. 

Multilateralism, when it's working well, gives every voice a hearing, and reaches decisions made stronger for being based on global consensus.

It's a big part of what the US Administration is calling ‘smart power' - harnessing the tools of persuasion and influence so that we've got both carrots and sticks at our disposal. Not just one or the other.

The United States is a leading player in virtually every multilateral process, and the new administration has already signalled that it will engage more in international institutions.

We look forward to America's constructive involvement in the elements of international society that need reform and reinvigoration, most notably the United Nations.

In closing

To US chargé d'affaires, Dave Keegan, can I say that we invite, and will welcome, senior official visitors to New Zealand as soon as practicable.

I've already told the Secretary of State that she will get a warm welcome here if she can find time to visit.

She told me that she is jealous that both her husband and her daughter have visited this country, and hopes to have the opportunity to make her own visit in due course.

In October New Zealand will participate in the annual New Zealand-US Partnership Forum in Washington. 

The Forum will look at the status of the bilateral relationship and the pace of progress in our Trans-Pacific partnership.

I'm delighted that this Council will take the organisational lead, and I look forward to working closely with you as we prepare for, participate in, and follow-up on, the October meeting.

The United States can continue to count on New Zealand as an engaged, active and stalwart friend.

And the Council will find the government open to regular engagement and a committed partner, particularly on the Partnership Forum event this October.

Thank you.